Per the Iowa State University Office of Risk Management - April 8, 2022:
Additional information about COVID restrictions as they pertain to vaccine validity, as this is increasingly becoming a concern as we continue further into this pandemic and as many countries are opting for vaccine requirements over testing requirements.
What is “Fully Vaccinated?"
When a country’s entry restrictions require a traveler to be “fully vaccinated” the definition of what that means can vary. To complicate things, sometimes that definition is difficult or impossible to determine. The most common standard, and the one I would recommend unless you can find different authoritative information, is such:
- Two doses of any of the major vaccines available in the United States (Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen/J&J)
- Typically it is okay to mix and have doses from multiple vaccines such as a J&J with a second dose Pfizer
- Your last dose must have been less than 270 days (9 months) ago. This may mean that many travelers will need a 3rd “booster” dose to be considered fully vaccinated if they received their second dose before Fall 2021, particularly if they will be staying in their destination for a while.
- Any doses counting toward validity must have been more than 14 days prior.
The short version is. The best way to make sure you are in compliance with your destination is to get 3 vaccine doses at least 14 days before you depart.
IMPORTANT: It is still important to check the destination for your program to see if these requirements vary. This represents the most common criteria, but many countries have shorter validity times.
The CALS Study Abroad office is here to assist with all of your study abroad needs through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences!
- Students can check out our current study abroad opportunities or contact Jodi Cornell at jcornell@iastate.edu for questions or to schedule a virtual meeting.
- Faculty interested in leading a program, please email Jodi Cornell at jcornell@iastate.edu.
We are tentatively moving forward with study abroad programs and will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our plans for future programs accordingly.